In general, internal combustion engines require filtering of engine intake air, during operation. The filtering is conducted in order to remove undesirable levels of particulates carried within the air streams, before the air streams reach sensitive engine components.
A wide variety of air cleaner systems for use with internal combustion engines are known. One type of assembly, generally involves utilization of an exterior housing having a removable and replaceable filter element therein. A second type concerns a filter element provided with an appropriate mechanism to be attached directly to an engine air intake conduit, without being positioned within an air cleaner housing. This second type will sometimes referred to herein as a "no-housing" or "non-housing" air cleaner. The present application concerns the latter type of arrangement.
In general, improvements in such arrangements with respect to such features as filter life, filter efficiency, preferred air flow, and/or configuration for convenient mounting or positioning with respect to an engine, have been desired. Continual improvements are pursued, with the present invention relating to certain preferred configurations for certain selected systems.